Who Serves on Democratic Committee?

To the reader who mentioned not hearing from his committee representatives, here is the official chart from the Union County Democratic Committee.

Please note that the list of City Council members is incorrect (eight members?) as is the leadership roster, which changed in June 2009. But the list of committee people by ward and district is correct, except for spelling errors.

The committee is supposed to be the most grass-roots of all elected officials. Theoretically, members bring neighborhood concerns of citizens to the attention of higher-level elected officials. In real life, the committee tends to be the pool from which many appointments to boards and commissions are drawn, assuring allegiance to party goals. The June 2009 committee includes 28 people who ran as New Democrats and 40 who ran on the Regular Democratic Organization line. They will serve until June 2011.

There is no contact information for the committee, but a citizen can always reach out directly to City Council members. Here is a list from the city's web site. Residents of the city's four wards each have three representatives on the council, starting with the wards, then with those holding the First & Fourth or Second & Third ward at-large seats, and finally with the citywide at-large representative.

There have been times when I have felt somewhat disenfranchised due to an unresponsive or ineffective elected representative. The council member I will always remember as the best for constituent service was former Councilman Frank Meeks III. The late Councilman Ray Blanco tried to help me out with some serious problems in my building in 2006, but as I noted on the blog, the Inspections folder simply disappeared. I have since had a better response from the administration on issues including no heat, squirrel invasion and water damage, but the elected officials can only do so much if the administration will not follow through.

Back to the committee: Running for a committee seat is relatively easy. One does not have to be on a slate to run. There is a male and female seat in each district within the four wards. In June 2009, 53 New Dems and 68 RDOs ran for the 68 seats. One person who was rebuffed by Chairman Jerry Green for the RDO line ran as a "Real Dem." Once a person wins, he or she is considered to be part of the Regular Democratic Organization, but New Dems have tended to keep their political independence.

Of course, many residents disregard everything connected with local elections and politics, as evidenced by low turnouts at the polls. Some say political infighting turns them off, others just live here without ever becoming engaged in what goes on with the school board or City Hall. Certainly the city could benefit from broader citizen involvement in local government. What do you think about it?

--Bernice Paglia